Patents for January
Patent as compiled from the USPTO in January
Rubber composition for tire and pneumatic tire
U.S. patent: 11,180,634
Issued: November 23, 2021
Inventors: Ayaki Kazariya, Makoto Ashiura, Satoshi Mihara, Kazushi Kimura and Hirokazu Kageyama
Assigned: Yokohama Rubber
Key statement: The present invention provides a rubber composition for a tire, the rubber composition containing: a diene rubber; silica; and a heterocyclic compound (where, the heterocyclic compound does not have a silicon atom) having a hydrocarbon group having from 3 to 30 carbons and at least one type of heterocycle selected from the group consisting of a piperazine ring, a morpholine ring and a thiomorpholine ring; an average glass transition temperature of the diene rubber being -50°C or higher; a content of the silica being from 80 to 200 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the diene rubber; and a content of the heterocyclic compound being from 0.5 to 20% by mass with respect to the content of the silica. Such rubber composition has excellent processability, exhibits excellent wet grip performance and has low rolling resistance when the rubber composition is formed into a tire.
Set of molding elements for tire mold
U.S. patent: 11,179,906
Issued: November 23, 2021
Inventors: Frederic Massis and Laurent Nadreau
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A set of molding elements suitable for being inserted into a mold for molding a tire comprises a main strip (1) and at least one secondary strip (2), the secondary strip (2) comprising a first secondary strip portion (3) and a second secondary strip portion (4), the second secondary strip portion (4) extending the first secondary strip portion and the first (3) and second (4) secondary strip portions extending on either side of the main strip (1) and the set of molding elements comprising members to assemble the secondary strip (2) with the main strip (1).
Silica masterbatch made with emulsion and solution rubber
U.S. patent: 11,180,639
Issued: November 23, 2021
Inventors: Christopher J. Hardiman, Xuan Fu, Robert J. Scribner and Julian Maldonado Valenzuela
Assigned: Industrias Negromex
Key statement: The present invention provides a process for making a silica masterbatch that contains hydrophobated silica, solution-made rubber and emulsion-made rubber. Hydrophobated silica is mixed into a latex emulsion. Solution-rubber crumb in an aqueous suspension is mixed into the latex emulsion, which is coagulated and a crumb is recovered, further homogenized, dried and baled to yield the silica masterbatch. A well-dispersed mixture of hydrophobated silica and emulsion-made rubber is added into a steam distillation step of a solution-rubber process from which a silica masterbatch is recovered. The emulsion-made rubber can be omitted to make a silica masterbatch of solution rubber and silica without emulsion rubber. The silica masterbatch has physical properties similar to those found in a comparable dry-mixed composition, but the silica masterbatch can be incorporated more easily and less expensively into tires and other rubber products than the dry-mixed composition.
Rubber composition for tread and tire
U.S. patent: 11,180,640
Issued: November 23, 2021
Inventor: Shingo Himeda
Assigned: Sumitomo Rubber
Key statement: A rubber composition for a tread comprising: 10 to 30 parts by mass of carbon black A having an iodine adsorption amount of 130 mg/g or more and 20 to 50 parts by mass of carbon black B having an iodine adsorption amount of 110 mg/g or more and less than 130 mg/g based on 100 parts by mass of a rubber component comprising 25 to 45% by mass of a styrene-butadiene rubber having a styrene content of 15% by mass or less and a vinyl content of from 30 to 50 mol %, 45 to 65% by mass of an isoprene-based rubber and 5 to 15% by mass of a butadiene rubber, wherein assuming that a content of the carbon black A is X part by mass, a content of the carbon black B is 0.6X to 4.5X part by mass.
Rubber composition for tires
U.S. patent: 11,180,641
Issued: November 23, 2021
Inventors: Kazushi Kimura, Hirokazu Kageyama and Satoshi Mihara
Assigned: Yokohama Rubber
Key statement: Provided is a rubber composition including: (i) a sulfur vulcanizable elastomer, (ii) carbon black and/or a white filler and (iii) a microparticle having a three-dimensionally crosslinked structure; the microparticle being a microparticle obtained by three-dimensionally crosslinking a polymer formed from an oligomer or prepolymer that has a sulfide bond formed from two or more sulfur atoms in a main chain and/or that has a thiol group.
Conjugated diene-based copolymer composition, method for preparing the copolymer composition and rubber composition comprising the copolymer composition
U.S. patent: 11,180,642
Issued: November 23, 2021
Inventors: Se Eun Lee, Byoung Yun Kim, Hyung Woon Yoon, Jae Min Lee and Woo Seok Choi
Assigned: LG Chem
Key statement: A conjugated diene-based copolymer composition is provided. The conjugated diene-based copolymer composition includes a first conjugated diene-based copolymer having 20 wt.% to 60 wt.% of an aromatic vinyl monomer-derived repeating unit, 35 wt.% to 75 wt.% of a first conjugated diene-based monomer-derived repeating unit and 1 wt.% to 10 wt.% of a hydroxyalkyl (meth)acrylate monomer-derived repeating unit. The first conjugated diene-based copolymer has a Mooney viscosity (MV) at 100°C of 30 to 120. The conjugated diene-based copolymer composition also includes a second conjugated diene-based copolymer having 20 wt.% to 60 wt.% of an α-methylstyrene monomer-derived repeating unit and 40 wt.% to 80 wt.% of a second conjugated diene-based monomer-derived repeating unit. The second conjugated copolymer has a Mooney viscosity (MV) at 100°C of more than 120 and equal to or less than 200. A method for preparing the conjugated diene-based copolymer is also provided.
Three-layer soft rubber shock absorbing wheel
U.S. patent: 11,186,121
Issued: November 30, 2021
Inventor: Weiguo Liu
Assigned: Zhongshan Cascoo Metal Machinery
Key statement: A three-layer soft rubber shock absorbing wheel including a hub. An outer surface of the hub is bonded with a hard body, a first layer of tread and a second layer of tread having a hardness lower than that of the first layer of tread. The hard body, the first layer of tread and the second layer of tread are arranged from inside to outside in sequence. The second layer of tread is bonded in a concave surface portion on an outer surface of the first layer of tread. The first layer of tread and the second layer of tread are both elastic bodies. The hard body is configured to have an I-shaped structure body. The three-layer soft rubber shock absorbing wheel is a wheel body made by bonding three layers of materials with different hardness.
Vehicle tire pitch sequence design methodology and associated reduced road noise vehicle tires
U.S. patent: 11,186,123
Issued: November 30, 2021
Inventor: Samuel B. Knisley
Assigned: American Kenda Rubber Industrial
Key statement: Exemplary embodiments described herein are directed to tire pitch sequence design methodologies that are usable to develop tire tread pitch sequences that will minimize objectionable tonal qualities and disperse the acoustic energy produced during tire rotation across a wider frequency band. The exemplary design methodologies employ iterative randomization of pitch subsequences, waveform generation and analysis of pitch subsequences and full pitch sequences and associated sorting and ranking using an objective function with an applied penalty factor.
Process for producing 3D structures from rubber material
U.S. patent: 11,192,293
Issued: December 7, 2021
Inventors: Dirk Achten, Thomas Busgen, Dirk Dijkstra and Roland Wagner
Assigned: Covestro Deutschland AG
Key statement: A process is described for producing a three dimensional structure, the process including the following steps: a) applying of at least a first material M1 onto a substrate to build a first layer L1 on the substrate; b) layering of at least one further layer Ly of the first material M1 or of a further material Mx onto the first layer L1, wherein the at least one further layer Ly covers the first layer L1 and/or previous layer Ly-1 at least partially to build a precursor of the three dimensional structure; c) curing the precursor to achieve the three dimensional structure; wherein at least one of the materials M1 or Mx provides a Mooney viscosity of >10 ME at 60°C and of <200 ME at 100°C before curing. Also, a three dimensional structure is described which is available according to the process according to the invention.
Disposable tire gripping system
U.S. patent: 11,186,128
Issued: November 30, 2021
Inventor: G.R. Parker
Key statement: A plurality of disposable single fabricated piece tire grips with friction contact surfaces and cable ties ratchet mounted on wheel contact surfaces of tires mounted on wheels with openings allowing the grips to secure there through for easy application and fits all tires regardless of size.
Crosslinked rubber
U.S. patent: 11,192,975
Issued: December 7, 2021
Inventors: Shingo Okuno and Yasuo Tsunogae
Assigned: Zeon
Key statement: A crosslinked rubber is produced by crosslinking a polymer composition containing 100 parts by weight of a rubber component containing a cyclopentene ring-opening polymer and 20 to 200 parts by weight of carbon black, wherein, when the crosslinked rubber is subjected to an ozone treatment in which the rubber is maintained at 40°C and an ozone concentration of 50 pphm for 144 hours under a 20% tensile strain, the crosslinked rubber shows a rate of change in tensile strength before and after ozone treatment of within ±70%.
Method for continuous polymerization of modified diene elastomer with lithium amide initiator
U.S. patent: 11,198,743
Issued: December 14, 2021
Inventors: Marie-Helene Dessendier, Charlotte Dire and Claire Fauvarque-Nuytten
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A process for the continuous synthesis of a modified diene elastomer comprising at least one silicon atom directly connected to the elastomer chain is provided. The process comprises polymerization by n reactors r1 to rn, considered to be continuous stirred-tank reactors equipped with an internal stirring system and arranged in series, n varying from 2 to 15. The reactor r1 is fed by an input solution comprising a solvent, one or more monomer(s), an anionic poly-merization initiator chosen from lithium amides and a polar agent. The temperature of each reactor varies from 20°C to 150°C and is greater than or equal to the temperature of the reactor which immediately precedes it. The living diene elastomer obtained exhibits a polydispersity index varying from 1.1 to 1.7. The process further comprises modification of the living diene elastomer obtained in the preceding stage by a functionalization, coupling or star-branching agent.
Rubber composition comprising a specific hydrocarbon resin
U.S. patent: 11,203,680
Issued: December 21, 2021
Inventors: Benoit De Gaudemaris and Alain Hut
Assigned: Michelin
Key statement: A rubber composition based on at least: from 50 to 100 phr of one or more diene elastomers, referred to as very low glass transition temperature (Tg) diene elastomers, having a Tg within a range of from -110°C to -70°C, selected from butadiene homopolymers, copolymers of butadiene and of a vinylaromatic monomer, having a content of vinylaromatic units of between 0 and 5% by weight and mixtures thereof a reinforcing filler a crosslinking system; and from 50 to 150 phr of at least one hydrocarbon resin predominantly composed of units derived from terpene and phenol monomers, the resin having a content of aromatic protons of greater than 15%.
Modified conjugated diene-based polymer and rubber composition including the same
U.S. patent: 11,198,777
Issued: December 14, 2021
Inventors: Hyoung Woo Lee, Won Hee Kim and Seong Du Lee
Assigned: LG Chem
Key statement: The present invention relates to a modified conjugated diene-based polymer and more particularly, a modified conjugated diene-based polymer prepared by continuous polymerization and having remarkable processability, narrow molecular weight distribution and excellent physical properties and a rubber composition including the same.